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I'll keep my Chesapeake Arms 550 in service for a while yet, I think.

Lonestar wrote:I'll keep my Chesapeake Arms 550 in service for a while yet, I think.

Yeah, well, considering I was using M14s, it seemed time for an upgrade.

SiegeTank wrote:I'm equipping a few elite air assault units with the gun (as well as the rest of the Feline infantry system) to trial how reliable it is. Even if it works I don't intend to outfit every grunt with it; too expensive, and they don't need its capability to effectively fight the usual rag-tag militia anyway.

Oh, certainly not. I was going to give them to my specOps as a support weapon.

I dunno what crack they were smoking when they figured they were going to give them to everybody.

I'll check those links later, I get the feeling they many not be work safe here. (Canadian Cancer Society)

Ryan Thunder wrote:

SiegeTank wrote: I dunno what crack they were smoking when they figured they were going to give them to everybody.

*coughcough* artillery helicopter *coughcough*.

I'm betting that's what they were thinking. Miratia has a history of ridiculously awesome projects.

Master_Baerne wrote:

Ryan Thunder wrote:

SiegeTank wrote: I dunno what crack they were smoking when they figured they were going to give them to everybody.

*coughcough* artillery helicopter *coughcough*.

Hey, that was a niche I felt needed to be filled. Like any other artillery supplement, it was never meant to be used universally, anyways.

Think of it as a really fast SP arty more than anything else...

In retrospect the project is a bit of a failure on its own, but the chassis is still useful for other applications.

One idea was to tack on a bunch of missiles and grenade launchers, and use it as an unusually heavy defensive counter-attack helicopter.

Another was to use it to transport squads that include heavy weapons teams, something our present air transports lack the internal space for (let's see you try to jam a crew-served MK 19 and 16 troops into a Black Hawk! )

I'm betting that's what they were thinking. Miratia has a history of ridiculously awesome projects.

Oh, yes. My Tank is Fight is required reading for all of our military think tanks--as inspiration for future projects.

Ryan Thunder wrote:Another was to use it to transport squads that include heavy weapons teams, something our present air transports lack the internal space for (let's see you try to jam a crew-served MK 19 and 16 troops into a Black Hawk! )

Let's see you jam 16 troops into a Black Hawk. There simply isn't room. You could use more helicopters. Or could use bigger ones... *shrug* The TXA uses one of the largest helicopters, the CH-53K.

Beowulf wrote:

Ryan Thunder wrote:Another was to use it to transport squads that include heavy weapons teams, something our present air transports lack the internal space for (let's see you try to jam a crew-served MK 19 and 16 troops into a Black Hawk! )

Let's see you jam 16 troops into a Black Hawk. There simply isn't room. You could use more helicopters. Or could use bigger ones... *shrug* The TXA uses one of the largest helicopters, the CH-53K.

Yeah, I didn't think there would be room. Presently, our helicopter-deployed squads are 12-strong.

Fingolfin: Any chance I could get some of those laser cannons for my new Millenium assault carrier? San Dorado's building it, so if anything it'd make life easier for him by standardizing things a bit...

Ryan Thunder wrote:Fingolfin: Any chance I could get some of those laser cannons for my new Millenium assault carrier? San Dorado's building it, so if anything it'd make life easier for him by standardizing things a bit...

I thought I said yes to Siege...

You know Siege, you keep it up with these Overseas Departments of yours and you're gonna catch some serious "expansionist!" flack. Because we all know it'll happen if you do, especially with all those "ZOMG! expansionist empires!" accusations thrown around so recently.

Also, note to self: never, never let Shroom write anything related to the Shinra Republic ever again. I am going to handwave and say he was making things up. Shroom isn't always fully there, after all. He was...seeing things.

Too bad there's no obvious way to do a hostile takeover of San Dorado

RogueIce wrote:You know Siege, you keep it up with these Overseas Departments of yours and you're gonna catch some serious "expansionist!" flack. Because we all know it'll happen if you do, especially with all those "ZOMG! expansionist empires!" accusations thrown around so recently.

Also, note to self: never, never let Shroom write anything related to the Shinra Republic ever again. I am going to handwave and say he was making things up. Shroom isn't always fully there, after all. He was...seeing things.

Perhaps a batch of tainted milk? It could definitely happen.

I think Siege already caught that flack, but it was general-"Expansionist CATO!" flack instead of being specific to San Dorado.

Tainted BOOB MILK! From TAINTED MILFS! MILFs that were WHORES taking MILF MUSHROOMS!

ACK! THFPHT!

Master_Baerne wrote:I think Siege already caught that flack, but it was general-"Expansionist CATO!" flack instead of being specific to San Dorado.

That was then. However, in our probably enlightened post-Summit world, we'll give the individual nations flack. IIRC, his Eastern Occidental Zone Overseas Department hasn't been made public, so that'll be a new round of flack to catch.

One of the points I'll no doubt address is that, allies though we may be, it's not like we can force a member nation to do (or not do) something. We can try and apply pressure, but we can't issue orders and the like. No more than, in our world, NATO could force the US to do anything. And so on...

So when individual nations do stuff (like open up Overseas Departments next to Indhopal) we'll call out the nation, not the alliance. At least, some will. I suppose there's ultimately no stopping painting an alliance with a broad brush. Remember, not every game post made comes from a leader. We do have real people in our nations.

phongn wrote:Too bad there's no obvious way to do a hostile takeover of San Dorado

What if you (and some "anonymous outside investors") bought a majority of the shares?

RogueIce wrote:

phongn wrote:Too bad there's no obvious way to do a hostile takeover of San Dorado

What if you (and some "anonymous outside investors") bought a majority of the shares?

I think it's required to actually be a citizen to buy shares in the government.

Beowulf wrote:

RogueIce wrote:

phongn wrote:Too bad there's no obvious way to do a hostile takeover of San Dorado

What if you (and some "anonymous outside investors") bought a majority of the shares?

I think it's required to actually be a citizen to buy shares in the government.

Damn. Probably too much effort to get a bunch of citizens to do it for you, as well. Well that and it'd probably be suspicious if they suddenly got that much money out of nowhere.

Then again, one could always try it... *shrug*

RogueIce LAEM-o-vision wrote: ( )

((OOC: No, my nation doesn't look anything like FF7: Advent Children. Neither do I look like the Japanese version of Rufus Shinra, and I definately don't have bandages all over my face. All that can be chalked up to Shroom's odd way of seeing the world sometimes.

Actually, that bit with your face and looking like Langley came from the part Siege wrote (back when I was out of town) but never got around to posting. I was lazy and decided to borrow some of his stuff, which was basically the beginning part (i.e. your picture, and your androgynous albinos).

At least we didn't use the picture of a wheelchair bound Shinra draped in white cloth, after being afflicted by GEOSTIGMA.

PS: The "Turks" aren't my security detail. They're something else entirely, a very much classified intelligence agency known as the Special Intelligence Service. It's black, so the name isn't even publically known. Though if Shroom thinks of my security detail as "the Turks" I certainly can't stop him.))

Well, you never really mentioned the Turks in-game. I thought you'd like the FF7 reference.

Maybe Shroom misread some Shroomanian Secret Service dossier on Shinran intelligence and so he thought "the Turks" were something or another.

Or your security guys just look... Turkish.

Although to Rufus, they weren't big bikes.

BAH! Come ON! It would be SO COOL if Shinra was a world-known manufacturer of awesome big bikes, like in Final Fantasy... or Akira.

But FINE. Maybe your motorcade cops are all, like, obese Officer Wiggums and need Fat Bikes.

Also, note to self: never, never let Shroom write anything related to the Shinra Republic ever again. I am going to handwave and say he was making things up. Shroom isn't always fully there, after all. He was...seeing things.

That's how Siege and I decided a hippotheticel (now actual) Shroom-Shinra-Shindig would play out.

With me seeing gratuitous FF7 references, just for the lulz.

RogueIce wrote: Damn. Probably too much effort to get a bunch of citizens to do it for you, as well. Well that and it'd probably be suspicious if they suddenly got that much money out of nowhere.

Then again, one could always try it... *shrug*

They'd spend it all on booze and Shroomanian man-hookers anyway.

Also, I think you'd need a whole *lot* of money to buy the nation. There could be rules against that sort of thing too.

I am sure that in the past, under more assholish Prime Ministers (and deranged Queens?), Shroomania could've tried to buy San Dorado back like used second-hand clothing.

(It didn't work though.)

There's probably a rule saying that all Citizen-Share sales must be approved by some kind of agency, and that an "anonymous buyer" would be illegal. I'd guess that the one thing not for sale in San Dorado is... San Dorado.

RogueIce wrote:Damn. Probably too much effort to get a bunch of citizens to do it for you, as well. Well that and it'd probably be suspicious if they suddenly got that much money out of nowhere.

Then again, one could always try it... *shrug*

Send some religious missionaries.

RogueIce wrote:Damn. Probably too much effort to get a bunch of citizens to do it for you, as well. Well that and it'd probably be suspicious if they suddenly got that much money out of nowhere.

Then again, one could always try it... *shrug*

I'm sure VEIL has at least one San Doradan Citizen on payroll to facilitate this deal if need be,

And, of course, the bigwig entepreneurs in charge would have to actually be willing to sell you their shares, rather than just sending their goons to fuck you up for trying to take over. Remember, San Dorado is actually owned by several huge corporations who basically appoint the board of directors based on number of shares they own.

RogueIce wrote:You know Siege, you keep it up with these Overseas Departments of yours and you're gonna catch some serious "expansionist!" flack. Because we all know it'll happen if you do, especially with all those "ZOMG! expansionist empires!" accusations thrown around so recently.

"Keep it up"? Seriously, you make it sound as if I'm annexing whole countries two at a time. I've been keeping the peace in that part of the CFR for six-odd years now, and though that wasn't originally the intention I've nonetheless built up quite a beneficial relation with Eastern Occidental in that time. We train their army and provide security, they get investments from our companies, we extract gold, platinum, etc.

Besides, anyone accusing me of expansionism because of the Overseas Departments clearly doesn't have the faintest clue what an Overseas Department actually is. They're pretty much entirely independent areas. We just share a mutually beneficial relationship that both parties acknowledge by signing a treaty--which specifically curtails NFT involvement to a few areas, I might add. And no-one says the deal has to go through anytime soon; it might very well take another year or so to finalize the details. Which is fine, because I'm in no particular hurry.

Really, you're free to accuse me of anything, but should you do so in this particular case I'll be forced to have my ambassadors cordially tell you to take a hike.

phongn wrote:Too bad there's no obvious way to do a hostile takeover of San Dorado.

You think that's a coincidence? I specifically designed the system so no-one can just swoop in and buy my country out from under me. You can't buy shares unless you're a shareholder, and you're not a shareholder until we say you can be.

Also, what PeZook said. A sizable majority of all shares is owned by the megacorporations and those that run them. Sidney Hank personally owns nearly ten percent of all shares in San Dorado. Good luck trying to compete for shares with a guy who can just ask his soon-to-be wife to send government-sanctioned assassins to drop you from a high building.

Can't we all just play nice?

That's what Shroom is Sojourning for! I guess I'm like Jimmy Carter. All I need now is a Baron Ronald von Reagan to kick me out of office.

SiegeTank wrote:"Keep it up"? Seriously, you make it sound as if I'm annexing whole countries two at a time.

I'm not a mind reader. I have no idea what your plans are. Just pointing out a likely reaction if it were to continue.

SiegeTank wrote:Besides, anyone accusing me of expansionism because of the Overseas Departments clearly doesn't have the faintest clue what an Overseas Department actually is.

When has that ever stopped bloggers? They'll see the word "Department" and make the connection with is as in a corporate or government "department"; ie: a part of that corporation/government.

Of course you could call it "Super Happy Fun Time Cooperation With Totally Non-Colonial Overtones" and some people would still call it expansionism. Welcome to politics.

SiegeTank wrote:They're pretty much entirely independent areas. We just share a mutually beneficial relationship that both parties acknowledge by signing a treaty--which specifically curtails NFT involvement to a few areas, I might add. And no-one says the deal has to go through anytime soon; it might very well take another year or so to finalize the details. Which is fine, because I'm in no particular hurry.

Really, you're free to accuse me of anything, but should you do so in this particular case I'll be forced to have my ambassadors cordially tell you to take a hike.

Now see, this is the OOC thing I was talking about. I made the point about how not every post from a player has to come from that national leader. Just because RogueIce makes a post, doesn't mean President Shinra had anything to do with it. Otherwise, those jihadi submarines were all secret agents of PeZook and Shroom!

So I suppose your ambassadors could tell the Talking Heads and bloggers to take a hike. But why they'd get that involved, I don't know.

Shroom Man 777 wrote:Can't we all just play nice?

[/quote]
Short answer: no.

Longer answer: when it comes to international diplomacy, you're always going to have one side suspicious of another. Whether that's most of the government holding that view or even just a group of diehards (who you still have to listen to in some degree, otherwise they'll cause trouble at home) who think anyone who isn't Shinra/Shroomanian/San Doradon/etc. is a potential enemy.

That's just the way it goes. Like those War Plan Reds and stuff where the US planned on how to attack Canada.